


Gave Us All Hell

by Amorentia_Quibble



Category: MCU, Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), Thor (Movies)
Genre: Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, Avengers: Endgame (Movie), Avengers: Endgame (Movie) Spoilers, Avengers: Infinity War Part 1 (Movie), Don't read if you haven't seen Endgame, F/M, M/M, Post-Avengers: Infinity War Part 1 (Movie), Reader-Insert, Thor (Marvel) Feels, seriously don't
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-05-01
Updated: 2019-05-07
Packaged: 2020-01-31 18:32:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 11,130
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18597046
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Amorentia_Quibble/pseuds/Amorentia_Quibble
Summary: You just want to help Thor through his guilt.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> SERIOUSLY, If you haven't seen Endgame, DON'T READ AHEAD!! I can't stress this any more than I already have and I don't want to spoil the amazing experience it is for everyone, even if it's just a small thing. If you still wanna read this, just like... Bookmark it and come back after you've seen it. It's too good a movie to pass off the surprise. I just couldn't wait to write something because I have a LOT of feelings.
> 
> For those of you who have seen it, or otherwise just don't care about spoilers, I hope you enjoy.

You yawned as you rounded the corner to stand at the coffee machine, waiting patiently for the next order to be ready. Your legs were aching. You smelled like burnt coffee, and with the bags under your eyes alone, it looked like you could use some yourself. But that wasn't any different from any other day at work. You were, though, more tired than usual. Your degree was hitting you hard, essays and exams left, right and centre, but save for a few hours of sleep you probably needed, you were handling everything fine. 

It hadn't gone unnoticed by your coworkers that you were less energetic than usual, your friend Elle peeking around the coffee machine as you waited for her to finish up the next two coffees on order, "So things are going that well, huh?" She asked with a knowing smile. She was further in on her own degree than you, and knew full well of your current struggles. You rolled your eyes playfully.

"Things are going fine, just a few less hours of sleep than I'd like," You assured, setting out the saucers and spoons for the cappuccinos she was pouring. She gave you a quick look, and you knew what she was about to ask before she got the chance to even say it. But you let her anyway.

"And what about that man of yours?" She asked. You resisted the urge to roll your eyes again, but you couldn't help your smile settling into one with a tinge of sadness.

"I... Miss him. A lot, actually. But he's busy saving the universe, I can't exactly complain." You shrugged. It had been a while since you'd seen Thor. Maybe too long. He'd popped up here and there, but it hasn't made it much easier to bear the long hauls between his little stop-offs to Earth. Your change in tone hadn't gone unnoticed by Elle, who rose an eyebrow as she pulled her cups toward her and began silking the milk for them.

"I mean, you definitely can complain. To me at least," You smiled at that, "You haven't seen him in what, more than a year? I don't exactly have a superhero boyfriend but that's a long time to wait around for anyone."

You chuckled at that, "You know, a few of them are single. I could pull some strings..." You teased, Elle's face lighting up as she shook her head.

"No thanks, if the supers want to find me, they'll come find me. You just got lucky." She said. You could see the words 'In more ways than one' in her eyes, and about to form on her lips, but they weren't spoken aloud. Maybe because she'd spotted the young boy stood behind her, eagerly coming over to the window with that wide grin of his. You returned it as his head popped up over the counter.

"Hey kiddo, what are you up to?" You asked him, eyes narrowed in that playfully prying way. He giggled.

"I'm making everyone cakes!!" He said, holding up an empty box you hadn’t spotted before, with a smattering of colourful drawings all across it, and your name on it, "This one's yours, do you want to see?" You couldn't help the smile that came to your face as you nodded.

"But quickly, I gotta take these coffees before they get cold," You told him, already picking them up, but staying in place as he struggled to open the box for a second, before proudly displaying the imaginary baked goods that supposedly belonged to you.

You couldn't help but beam, "Wow Henry, that's one nice looking cake. What colour are those decorations? They're gorgeous!" You asked, before turning to Elle, knowing she was more than happy to play along, "See, I'm the favourite, I get cakes." You teased. She stuck her tongue out at you, in a way exaggerated enough for Henry to see, and subsequently giggle at.

"They're your favourite colour!" He assured you. 

"Well I'll have to get a better look at them once I've taken over these coffees, ok?" He nodded, though his smile dimmed slightly. Henry was pretty attached to all the workers at his mum's cafe, and didn't hesitate to call after everyone like members of his family. You were firmly placed in the older sibling category, while some of the cooks were more like Aunts and Uncles. Henry's mum, Lorrie, seemed to find it cute. 

Not wanting to leave the coffees to sit much longer, you quickly scanned around the tables and found the number you were looking for, some older regulars. You took them over with a smile, repeating the order absentmindedly as you placed them down. They asked how your degree was going, you simply replying with the good stuff, good grades, the good friends, joking about getting no sleep. But as the bell rang for you to pick up some more coffee, you reached for their number.

"Anything else, today?" You asked. They both shook their heads, and you smiled and bid them a good day as you snatched up the number and hurried to the window for the coffees. You grinned as you rounded the corner and placed then number down beside you, picking up the two coffees. A flat white and a latte. You sighed. You could never tell the difference when they were in a mug like that, and they were both the same size, meaning you couldn’t differentiate them on the order. When you looked up, Elle wasn't there. Probably getting coffee beans from the back. You sighed and gave both the coffees a little wiggle, deciding the more firm of the two must have been the latte and turning to serve them. You were immediately startled as someone sprinted into you, fear laced into their features. He pushed the coffees onto you as you collided, them spilling down your arms before falling and smashing on the floor. You were about to berate the stranger, when you realised they were crumbling into what looked like ash, and moments later, had joined the shattered remains of the mugs by your feet.

You fell back into the counter, eyes wide and hand trembling. Hot coffee dripped down your arm, and you could feel the burn vaguely in the back of your mind, but you were too busy trying to wrap your head around what was happening to care.

It seemed slow, at first, people stood up from their tables as strangers, relatives and friends alike began to fade away before them, but as if the world had caught up, it started happening everywhere. There were screams through the street. You heard the distant sound of a car crashing into another outside, alarms blaring. What felt like forever had happened in just a short moment, and suddenly you were brought back to reality. You snapped up from where you'd fallen, eyes going immediately down to your hands to see that you were still intact. Burnt, but intact. You immediately stood and ran around the shop to come inside, a hand over your mouth. 

Most of your coworkers were gone. Ash was being pushed around by the air conditioner. One of the chef's, Grace, was stood stock still in the corner, pale as a sheet, with a pile of ash on the opposite side of the kitchen from her. When you heard whimpering out the back, you followed it to find Henry huddled in a corner, another pile in front of him. His mother had been out here doing prep for the next day. Tears sprung to your eyes as the gravity of the situation suddenly fell on you. Something tragic had taken place. It was like half the people here had just vanished. Careful to sidestep the ash on the floor, your arms reached for Henry. He quickly leaned into them, letting you lift him from the floor. Your eyes scanned for Lorrie's phone, seeing it sat next to a box of tartes. You picked it up, as well as your own belongings as you walked through. You and Grace shared a look. What were you supposed to do?

You decided you had to help the last few people who'd stuck around. Many of them had left the moment people began vanishing, but a few caught sight of you and screamed at you for not having the food they ordered. You looked down at a very visibly upset Henry, deciding you couldn't run your mouth the way you very much wanted to, and assured they would all get their money back, and that for now, you were closing.

A few refunds later, you'd managed to get into Lorrie's phone and call Henry's dad. You were relieved when he answered the phone, but less relieved when you realised what you had to tell him. 

You cleaned up fairly quickly, just wanting to get out of there. Grace had left shortly after it all happening, and you'd told Henry's dad you'd close up once he came to pick up the young boy. You didn't know what to do with all the ash, so much of it dispersed across the place now, you couldn't begin to try differentiate between whose might be whose. You weren't afraid to admit that you took a cry-break when you finally came around to the coffee machine and found a pile there, too.

As you pulled down the roller doors and locked them, your mind strayed to Thor. Would he know what was happening? After your call with Henry's dad, it seemed that it wasn't just something happening in the city, or even in the country. This was worldwide. And maybe, you'd thought, universe-wide. You didn't want to think on it too much. You didn't have a whole lot left as it was, and the idea of losing Thor in all of this wasn't something you wanted to linger on.

You knew driving home was going to be a challenge, but public transport wasn't running. You began the drive, knowing it wasn't too far, but it still took more than two hours. Two hours of trying to ignore the swathes of dust and ash that moved across the highway, as cars were shifted aside and towed, and as people grieved on the side of the road. You noticed more than a few cars with people sat unmoving inside.  

When you got home, you knew something was off. You pulled your car into the driveway, but didn't dare head into the garage. You could see your front door was open. And you knew it was always locked. You shut the car door as quietly as you could, holding your keys between your fingers without being conscious of the action. It had begun to rain as you got closer to home, so you were quick to run undercover so you weren’t completely drenched. Eyes scanning over the door, you couldn't see any signs of a break in. The door looked like it had just been unlocked and left carelessly ajar. Your heart fluttered irrationally. It couldn't be him.

But he's the only one who knows about the key, and you know it.

You crept around the side of the house, your worries about rain no longer important as you pulled the plastic cap off of one of the poles in the gate, peering into it. The key was gone.

A hand flew over your mouth as hope filled you, and you ran back to the front door, tugging the screen door open and nearly tripping into the house. Your eyes scanned frantically into the first two rooms, "Thor?" You called, clearing your throat and swallowing when it came out far weaker than you'd have hoped. Your ears strained for an answer, but none came. Your feet quickly led you from room to room, but no one was there. 

You called out again, and you spotted him before he could respond. At least, you thought it was him. He stood out in the middle of the backyard, his unfamiliarly short hair dripping wet, as he leaned against something obscured by his, similarly drenched, cape. You exited the house and approached slowly, dropping your keys as your eyes scanned over him. You almost wondered if he'd heard you, until he spoke, voice thick, "When you weren't here, I thought..." 

You stepped up beside him, letting the rain fall hard on you.

"I was at work." You told him quietly. You were afraid to look at him. Hours ago, when you were joking with Elle, there would have been no hesitation. But now you'd seen people vanish before your eyes, and even more die as a consequence. And here Thor was, after more than a year, and he'd... Changed. And you weren't sure what you were meant to do, or say. You let out a sob, that was more unexpected than you realised, and another quickly followed, "How many?" You managed to choke out.

He didn't say anything, for a moment. You wondered if it was because he didn't know, or because he didn't want to answer, but you didn't have to wonder for too long, "Half. Of everyone." 

Something about that number just made it feel worse. You felt brave enough to look up at the man you'd been waiting for for all this time, and couldn't help a tearful gasp. He looked terrible. He was pallid, lines running across his face that you know hadn’t been there before. His usually sparkling blue eyes were dulled, brimming with tears, and as you stepped closer, and caught sight of a scar, you realised that one eye was no longer blue, but a near-orange brown. When your eyes finally travelled the whole way over him, you caught sight of the massive axe that he was leaning on heavily, coated in some kind of burgundy-purple blood. You glanced away from that quickly enough, a hand raising to gently hold Thor's face. Your thumb ran against his cheek, and he leant into it gently, eyes sliding closed for a mere moment before opening again, like he was afraid to keep them shut. But beyond that, his expression didn't change. You searched his eyes, trying to place it, until finally landing on it. Guilt.

"What happened?"

"Do you truly want to know?" He asked, looking down to you. Your lip trembled as you nodded, your free hand coming up to hide it. An arm was drawn around you, as Thor pulled you into his chest. You stood like that for a long moment, letting the rain wash over the both of you, quiet sobs wracking your body, as Thor's hand gently ran through your hair.

"I lost everything," He said quietly, and you could hear that he was crying too, him having to suck in a shaky breath before continuing, "Mother and Father are both gone. As is Loki. And half of my people. And Asgard." You pulled away then, eyes wide. He couldn't look at you, eyes squeezed shut as tears joined the raindrops trailing down his face. Your hand went back to his face, brushing away what you could of his tears and holding him gently, "We have nowhere to go. And they need a king, but all they have is-... is me."

You frowned a little, gently tilting his chin so his face was pointed at you, "You say that as if you're not enough." You say gently, voice shaky. He still didn't look at you, eyes averting away immediately as they opened.

"How can I be, when I failed to protect them?" He asked, desperation clear in his voice, "When I had every chance to kill the bastard that did this, and I failed?" You knew you didn't understand what he was talking about, who it was that did this, or how it was even possible, but that wasn't important.

"Whatever this is... It isn't on you, Thor. And it can be fixed, I'm sure of it." He merely shook his head, taking a small step back. Realising he might need space for a moment, you pulled away from his arm, taking the time to pull yourself together a little, wiping at your eyes and taking a few needed breaths. But as he picked up his new axe and headed inside, with a pace much more urgent than someone taking a moment to breathe, you followed. Your suspicions were confirmed as he headed for the door.

"Don't tell me you're leaving."

"Alright then, I won't." You frowned at that.

He pushed through the front door, just as you reached for his arm, "Thor, you can't just leave me alone!" You told him, but he shrugged you off, continuing out past your car and into the barren street. you followed closely, ready to say something when Thor gave you a silencing look.

"Do not try to convince me to stay."

"What? Why, Thor? Because I want to help you?" You asked, stepping up close to him, "I have waited. For so. Damn. Long. Too long for you to tell me now that, in the midst of all this shit, and all of your shit, that you're gonna fly off and expect me to be fine with that." You told him. 

"Then why wait?" He asked, and you could hear the held-back emotion in his voice, "I'm sure there are plenty more... more capable men our there  _ vying _ for you. There's truly no need to wait for me." That felt like a punch to the gut, but you knew he was emotional. You both were. You didn't want to take anything he said to heart.

You took a half-step closer, but when you reached for his face this time, his hand grabbed your wrist, making you grit your teeth from the earlier burns. He didn't seem to notice, especially as you decided to talk through it anyway, "You know that I only have eyes for you," You said. After a moment of him staring you down, you searching his gaze, he dropped your arm and shook his head. He put his hand out to summon the axe, but you grabbed it's handle immediately, just being pulled to him along with the weapon. You fell into his chest, wincing as you put your burnt hand out to soften the collision. Thor didn't say anything. You decided to fill the silence, "At least take me with you, Thor. I want to help fix this." He shook his head, water dripping off his forehead with the motion.

"I can't."

"Why not?" You could feel a hint of anger swell in your voice, "I don't know what to do with myself, Thor, I have no job anymore, I have no one else here, and I don't even know what I'm supposed to do about my studies now. I have no place but with you, and I've waited too long for you for this to happen. For you to push me aside without explanation." You said in quick succession, throat tight as you spoke.

There was near silence, save for the heavy downpour hitting against the tarmac road, and the tin roof of the closest house. You watched Thor's face morph from one of sorrow, to one of guilt, and one of anger. It settled on some sort of amalgamation of the three, as he took a few quick steps back, "I'm sorry. I can't lose you too."

"Then take me with you!"

"No!" He finally shouted, the sound cracking like thunder. It forced you to take a step back, and the action seemed to be all the chance Thor needed for him to summon the Bifrost, the bright light forcing you a few steps further as you threw yours arms up in front of your face, and in a flash, it was gone. And so was he. 

You collapsed to your knees on the road, tears streaming freely now. The rain stopped abruptly, clouds parting quickly, brightening a world that suddenly felt like it would be dulled forever. 

You didn't move inside for a long time. But once the newfound light began to sink over the horizon, you forced yourself to your feet, moving back inside. You locked the front door behind you.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In the wake of catastrophe, you begin to crumble.

It took a while, but you found a job, eventually. Henry's dad, who's name you discovered to be Noel, was working overtime to make up for the money his wife was no longer making, and you weren't looking to charge him the earth to look after Henry. It was a pretty good arrangement, and it helped that he was such a good kid. It didn't go unnoticed by you that he'd lost a lot of his spark and energy, but it was slowly coming back. He didn't really understand what had happened, you did your best to explain it the only way you could; with a cool superhero story. That an epic battle took place, and that even though all seemed lost, those heroes are still fighting to get everyone back. It seemed to ease his pain a little bit, to know that people were still looking, still fighting. You wished it would do something to ease yours.

You hadn't seen Thor in 3 years.

For a while, you hoped he'd blow off some steam, realise he was being irrational, and come back. You knew that he sometimes needed the space, that was fine. But after 6 months, you began to wonder if he just wasn't coming back.

You'd never really contacted the Avengers before. You'd met them, briefly, once or twice. But that was a long time ago, and you weren't really sure where they were at, so to speak. You were beginning to get desperate, though, so you'd managed to find a phone number. Said phone number was for one Pepper Potts, and after a quick explanation, she'd said she'd get you onto Steve Rogers, saying she didn't really have any involvement in that life anymore. Her or Tony Stark.

When you eventually got to Rogers, he'd been sympathetic. He seemed to remember you, if vaguely, which was nice enough, you supposed. He told you that as far as he knew, Thor was busy helping to rebuilt Asgard in Norway, and no one had seen much of him. He'd sounded a lot brighter in tone than you'd expected, 6 months after a tragedy he couldn’t stop, but you wondered how much of it was a facade. He'd said if you'd needed anything, to never hesitate in calling his number. You'd thanked him, never thinking you'd use the number again.

It was a month later when you found yourself contacting Steve again. It had been a month filled with a lot of questions, mostly about Thor. Whether he was really ok, how Asgard looked now, how many of his people were left. You wondered if he was just busy, rebuilding what used to be an empire from the rubble and dust of what had just been. You also wondered if he really didn't want anything to do with you. If he'd meant it when he said you shouldn't wait for him.

It was also a tough month for Noel, who was still struggling in the role of a single father. He was a lot like you, whoever he had left, he lost in the wake of Thanos and his attack. You had a few nights where you shared one too many drinks, while Henry slept soundly upstairs. For the time being, you were all each other had left, and even if you were struggling to keep afloat, you were acting as his lifejacket, holding him above water. You did it voluntarily, you'd come to like Noel, and you'd do anything for Henry. But it was also a huge mental strain.

Near the end of the month, after a lot of deliberation, and another long night at Noel's place, you picked up the phone and called, against your best interests. You were shocked when he picked up after two rings, and even more at the sympathy in his voice when he could hear you were drunk. Even if the alcohol had made you a tad over emotional, and you rambled on for longer than you should have, he listened to every word, and you talked till morning. About the efforts being made by what remained of the Avengers team, and those who'd come on board along the way, about anything you could contribute, if needed. You asked about Thor, too, but the news remained the same, that he was still helping with New Asgard, and hadn't gone out of his way to reach out to anyone on the team, and no one else from New Asgard had, either. 

You were silent on the line for a long while, clearly disappointed, even if you shouldn't have expected change. After a little while longer of mindless chatter, you thanked him, and hung up. You poured a large glass of old whiskey you'd kept around because Thor used to like it. You decided you'd buy a few more bottles.

It was another year later, of seeing Henry off to his first day of Primary School and watching him make friends, of seeing Noel finally pull himself together, and get a promotion he desperately needed, and of you finally, finally finishing your degree, that you received a call.

It was Steve again, who'd said he was just checking in, but as the two of you talked more, you had the feeling that he had a reason to get back in contact with you, and just wasn't saying it. You mentioned such, Steve finally relenting and asking if you wanted to meet with the team and talk through some things. For a split second, you had hope that the team meant Thor, but you had enough sense to ask, and to have said hope quashed. Still, no one had heard from him. You agreed to meet with them, seeing as you had nothing to lose now. You had no more studies, no more job, now that Henry was at school, and Noel had gotten his promotion, and in the year and a half since Thanos, you hadn't really gone out of your way to make new connections. Teetering on the edge of alcoholism wasn't helping.

You were picked up the next day. Arriving at the Avengers Compound felt a little surreal, but not as surreal as standing before Captain America. It was a whole different thing, from talking to him over the phone. But he was swift to make you feel welcomed, with a soft smile and an understanding gaze as he led you inside.

The woman inside introduced herself as Natasha, but you knew her as Black Widow. Her hair certainly looked different from the broadcasts you'd seen from years ago, what had once been a short cut of flaming red hair was now a blinding white with her, albeit still bright, red roots seemingly growing back in. She looked completely exhausted. Another woman and a man showed up an hour or so later. The woman you hadn’t seen before, with blonde hair cut just above her shoulders, wearing a blue, red and gold outfit. She said her name was Carol Danvers, and shook your hand firmly. She looked the least rattled out of everyone there. The guy you had met before. Rhodey, you think was his name. War Machine. He just looked tired, but he seemingly remembered you, even though it'd probably been something like 5 years since you first were introduced to each other, and he gave you a quick hug.

You didn’t do much, eating lunch together and not even once mentioning anything about Thanos or what had happened. It would have felt nice if it wasn’t so tense, but as everyone began to part ways, they mentioned that they should all get together again soon, and you agreed. Better than drinking alone at home.

Steve stuck around, and the pair of you actually ended up talking about Thor, how the both of you had met him, laughing about times you’d had together, and you mentioning just how much you missed him. Steve mentioned a support group he’d made, that just talked about how life was going, improvements they’d had. He offered you a place, and despite your mind telling you no, that you didn't need a support group, you agreed.

For the next year and a half, you'd meet with him and a small group of people pretty regularly. It was basically group counselling, but you were pretty sure Captain America didn't have a counselling degree, so you just called it a chat circle, in your head. For a long time, you don't talk, just listening to everyone else's stories and milestones as they worked through their trauma. Sometimes you felt like you were behind, but you realised that you still had a lot of baggage that you were holding on to, that you weren't willing to part with yet. Talking with Steve one-on-one helped, but it wasn’t solving any problems, and without anything else to fall back on, your drinking habit had continued to worsen over time.

It's around the 3 year mark of Thanos' attack that you finally speak up. It might have helped that you were a little drunk, but that didn’t matter to you in that moment.

"Um, so I don't really talk much here, because I don't really have a lot to say," you'd spoken up suddenly, near the end of a session, the group turning to you from where they were picking up their belongings from under their chairs, "not much in terms of improvements, I mean. Like really, look at me! Haven't been able to hold down a job, I can't really bring myself to find new... People. Y'know? And I know I lean a bit too heavily on booze to get me through," No one really said anything in response, but you'd heard enough about their lives to know they could empathise, "When everything... When it all went down, I’d been with someone. He had a lot of influence, and power, and God was he handsome, but he'd been scarred by a lot of shit leading up to everyone vanishing. He held a lot of guilt, and... He disappeared. He was alive, but he just didn't want anything to do with me anymore." You said. It was a fact that hadn’t left you, and even though it no longer brought you to tears to think about, the  _ abandonment _ , it had left you feeling absolutely hollow. And it showed in your voice, "And it... It hurt. A lot. And I still miss him and wonder if there was something I could have said or done to help him, or to stop him from abandoning me, but... Here we are! And here I am, and I hate it because I can't bring myself to try and move on because I still love him. Even if I shouldn't." No one said a word for a moment, and you felt a pang of embarrassment. You’d never said a word before now, and you suddenly expected, what exactly? A standing ovation? It wasn’t until you looked up to see Steve sending you a smile that made the darkness in your soul feel just a little lighter.

"We've all been there, booze and all," You couldn't help but argue against that in your head, not convinced that Captain America had ever tried to solve his problems with alcohol, but didn't want to bring it up aloud, "as for this  _ person _ ,” He said, as if he didn’t know him, or wasn’t aware of the many nights you’d spent on the phone with him discussing this very topic, “I know how difficult it is to move on. 70 years ago I crash landed into the ice and lost my chance to be with the woman I’d fallen in love with. But if you still truly think you have a way of talking to this person, for both your sakes, I think you need to have a serious conversation. Because if he isn't serious, I think he owes it to you to let you know, so you can have the chance to move on." You nod silently.

It isn't long before the session's wrapped up and everyone started to leave. You hang back. Steve seems to have expected this.

"Talk to him? How am I meant to talk to him, Steve?" You ask, stepping up to him with only the slightest sway in your footing, as he packed away a few things, moving the chairs back to their places, "You haven't heard a thing, I haven't heard a thing. What if he just wants nothing to do with me?"

Steve turned to you, a hand landing on your shoulder and squeezing it gently, "Then, like I said, he owes it to you to let you know."

You frowned, "You only answered one question."

Steve chuckled gently, but you'd noticed for a while now that it never really reached his eyes.

"I have a friend, one of the new one's I'd been telling you about. She's got a ship. She can take you most of the way, if you'd like that." You looked to Steve, eyes wide.

"You're not fucking with me?"

"I am not," He assured, a small smile on his face, interrupted only by your hasty hug. You clung to his shirt, as a hand rubbed your back.

"Thank you," You uttered, trying your best to not let the tears that you could feel in the back of your eyes fall. 

He pulled back a bit and smiled, “It’s the least I can do.” He said, before adding, “I think you need a ride home.”

You nodded, eyes averted, “Yeah, I don’t think driving’s a good idea.” You agreed. He seemed to agree, an arm falling around your shoulder as he led you out to the carpark.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is slightly shorter, which I apologise for. But the next chapter's considerably longer than both these first two chapters, so I thought having a little bit of a breather might have been a good idea.  
> Thank you to everyone who's commented, Kudos'd, bookmarked or otherwise interacted with this story, the feedback so far's been really great and I can't wait to hear more from you all. Next chapter is the Thor we've all been waiting for, don't you worry!


	3. Chapter 3

Her name was Nebula, and at first you had no idea how you'd get along. You boarded her ship from the compound, even though the idea of leaving from your street was amusing. Steve hadn’t thought it was quite as funny though, but it may have been the fact that you’d not stopped giggling about the idea of your asshole neighbour across the road stepping out to grab the morning papers only to see you prancing into a spaceship.

Yeah, suck shit, Gary. Maybe next time he backed into your car and scratched the hell out of the left-hand side bonnet, he’d come and apologise instead of pretending it wasn’t him. Wasn’t like you had security cameras installed or anything. No. Not at all.

Dumbass.

Despite how hilarious it would have been, you did eventually agree it would be safer, and more sensible, to leave from the compound, saluting Steve as you stepped in and let the ramp lock you inside. Moving through the ship, you could hear movement coming from what you assumed to be the control panel, heading that way. You’d resolved to go out of your way and greet her, but you halted when you spotted her in the pilot's seat. She was blue, firstly, and as you caught a glimpse of her left arm, it seemed she was also a robot. Alright, not the weirdest thing ever. Thor's some sort of Norse God, and you're friends with a Super Soldier from World War II. The concept of weirdness was being stretched to its limits by now, you reckoned you could feasibly fit blue alien robot lady in there too.

Despite that initial reaction, you moved over to the seat beside her with your hand outstretched, "Nebula, right?" She looked up from whatever she'd been doing at the panel in front of her, eying your hand for a moment before looking up at you. After another second that seemed to tick on for an awkward moment too long, she took your hand, shaking it hastily before turning back to what she'd been doing before. Her eyes flicked over from time to time, but she never made any other attempt at talking or conversation of any other kind.

You decided not to think any further on it, sitting down and letting the journey carry out. It was mostly silent, save for the occasional tapping of metallic fingers on buttons and keyboards, or the slosh of the flask you now often brought with you places. it wasn't until you were in Norway that she spoke, "The rest of the journey will be on the ground. There'll be an Asgardian vehicle we can catch a ride with." You just nodded silently, fiddling with your fingers nervously before reaching into your pocket for your flask, taking a quick swig. Nebula clearly took notice, if her staring meant anything. You'd been taking the odd drink the whole trip, but it wasn't until now you'd noticed her looking. You stuck the flask out for her. When she didn't move, you shook it, the contents very nearly spilling over the still-open top.

"You want some?" You asked. She eyed it off for a moment, before taking it and taking a swig in a similar fashion to you.

She seemed to regret it quickly, face screwing up as she struggled to swallow, thrusting the flask toward you as quickly as she'd taken it, "That's disgusting."

"Yeah,” You agreed, knowing it was a fair assessment, “but a lot of coping mechanisms are." You shrugged, taking another quick swig before screwing the cap back on and pushing it away. You did not want to be drunk for this. It was enough to stave off your climbing nerves, and nothing else. And you knew if you had it within reach you’d be too tempted, so you kept it on a chair behind you that you couldn’t reach without unbuckling and getting up. There. Laziness prevails.

The ship was landed shortly after, and sure enough, a blue ute was sat not too far away, just on the edge of the nearby town. Apparently it was known to be a mode of travel between New Asgard and the rest of the surrounding areas, and the driver didn't seem to think twice about letting the blue robot lady with a Star Wars arm hop into the back tray alongside you. Must be Asgardian, you decided.

You were sick of the silence, so you finally asked a question, "Are you one of the ones that came from space?" You finally questioned. Steve had talked enough about the newer additions to the team, the racoon that could talk, which you found amusing, the blonde-haired woman who you now knew was Carol Danvers, and another woman, who you assumed was Nebula, considering her lack of blonde locks. She gave you another assessing look, her incredibly dark eyes difficult to keep eye-contact with. She nodded reservedly after a moment, you smiling in return.

"I always wanted to go to space. Thor..." You caught yourself for a moment, throat tightening, but you pushed past it, putting on one of those well-rehearsed smiles from when you still worked at Lorrie's cafe, "Thor had always promised me he'd take me to Asgard, show me around the 9 realms. I suppose there's not much left of Asgard to show, but I'd always looked forward to that trip." You said softly, eyes turning down to your hands, where you’d usually be holding your flask but… Ah. You’d left it on the ship. You were going to have to ignore that itch for a while.

You didn't expect a response from Nebula, seeing how quiet she'd been, and considering your sudden distraction, it wasn’t something that had been on your mind. But you were pleasantly surprised when she did speak up, eyes shooting up to her face as she did.

"We haven't heard much from Thor, but... Don't keep high expectations. I've heard rumours. It's best to expect the worst and be surprised." She said. Her voice was gravelly in a nice kind of way, and you couldn't help but look up and smile, even if her advice may have caused a small stab through your heart.

"I appreciate the heads up. Thank you."

The rest of the trip was filled with small talk, and not much else, with long stretches of silence in-between. The view was distraction enough that the moments of quiet never felt awkward, the rolling hills and the looming sea enough to intrigue you. You felt the effects of the alcohol you’d previously consumed dim a little, allowing all of the insecurities and anxieties to creep up on you. But you did your best to be present in the moment, especially with Nebula's daunting advice still echoing in your head. What rumours could there be going around about Thor? Had he changed? You didn't get a lot of time to talk with him after Thanos, but you knew he was hurting. More than you perhaps had even seen, in the short time you’d spent in the backyard. You just hoped he was in a better place than you currently were. That at least one of you was coping.

A few hours later, and the sign for New Asgard became visible down the hill, the first few little houses coming into view. You couldn't help a small smile. You were glad that what remained of Asgard's people seemed to have settled, and in such a beautiful spot.

You could see Nebula's eyes on you as you smiled, your eyes flicking over to her face, causing her to quickly avert her gaze. Your smile grew a little, "Do I have something on my face?" You questioned. When she just looked confused by your question, you shifted a little closer, asking, "Is everything ok?"

She didn't answer for a moment, before looking up at you, "I hope everything goes well for you." She said simply. You smiled, patting her on the shoulder in thanks.

The truck pulled up on a brick bridge, people pulling supplies here and there, a boat from the port just down the road having its fishing nets hauled up. You thanked the driver as you hopped out of the truck’s tray, turning to Nebula, "Where do we go?"

She didn't so much answer, but point vaguely behind you. Your eyebrows furrowed as you turned, only to see a woman approaching where the pair of you stood. You felt a little defensive under her gaze, as she swept some dark hair away from her face, before it was pushed right back where it had been by the seaside breeze, but Nebula seemed unfazed, so you tried to emit the same vibe.

The woman got to the pair of you quickly enough, looking the both of you up and down, without even the thought of subtlety, before smirking, "I think I can guess who you are," She said to Nebula, who merely nodded curtly in response, before the woman turned to you, "And you?"

You put your hand out to shake, letting her know your name as she took it. When she rose an eyebrow, like your name wasn't enough, you sighed, "I'm Thor's... Uh. Well, I was..." You stopped yourself, shaking your head as you corrected, "I'm in a complicated relationship with Thor."

"Aren't we all," The woman responded. She called herself Brunnhilde, and from her physique and stance alone, you had a feeling she was some kind of warrior. Or maybe all Asgardians were warriors. You'd only really met one before, after all. And looking around you, you were fairly certain any one of them would be able to enter a fight with considerable ease and win.

After giving you yet another once-over, Brunnhilde’s gaze beginning to make you a little self-conscious, she sighed, arms crossed as she glanced behind her, "He isn’t going to want to see you." She said. Your heart plummeted.

"What?"

"Well, to be fair, he doesn’t want to see anyone else, either. So much that he'll only come out of his hidey-hole once a month for... Supplies," she eyes a large pile of kegs marked with an array of different variants of alcohol, before turning her gaze back to the pair of you, "Otherwise, we've barely seen him since he helped build that place," She jabbed a thumb in a vague direction behind her, but you could assume which one she meant. You bit your lip. So he was faring... Badly then. Very badly.

Was he really so bad that he just didn't want to see you? Could he not bring himself to? Or maybe he just didn't care. Your heart ached at the thought, but you pushed that aside before the thought you latch on and make you want to chicken out. You turned to Brunnhilde.

"I'll give it a go," She nodded, perhaps seeing something in your eyes, because she stepped aside, Nebula remaining beside her.

You made your way up the small hill, standing in front of the door with your heart hammering in your chest. Your fist was raised to knock, but for a long moment, you couldn't bring yourself to do it. But you heard movement inside, and against your best interests, you felt a glimmer of hope. You knocked thrice, waiting impatiently. No answer.

"Thor? Are you there?" You knew he had to be, surely. You knocked again. The door opened a little by itself.

...Well, if he didn't want unexpected visitors, he'd have to learn to lock his door.

You walked inside slowly, eyes scanning over every detail. It was a mess, and it smelled horrible. Clothing was strewn across the floor and hanging limply off the side of cardboard boxes filled with junk, cables running across the floor from room to room. And seriously, it smelled putrid, like someone had spilled beer over the rotting corpse of a sewer rat.

"Thor?" You called again, beginning to feel nervous now. What if he'd died? Maybe all you'd heard was some kind of vermin, or the wind blowing something over, and you were about to walk in the find him dead on the ground-

"Is that the pizza?" A very familiar voice calls out, enough to stop you in your place, "Thank the gods, I thought Miek was going to eat me," That hope you'd felt doesn't quite seem to know what to do with itself. One moment, it's elevated. Because that's Thor. It's his voice, he's alive and you weren't about to walk in on a dead body. But at the same time, his voice sounds gravelly, the place he's staying in smells like horseshit, and his first guess upon hearing your voice is that you're a pizza deliverer. And something about being eaten, but you'd elected to ignore that part for the sake of your sanity.

You follow his voice to what had to have been the living room, at some point, nearly tripping over a pile of beer cans as your eyes took in the sight. Two creatures you couldn't begin to imagine existing if you weren't seeing them with your very eyes, sat on a two-seater couch. One was seemingly made of rocks, and wearing a garishly bright shirt that clearly didn't fit, and the other was some sort of purplish slug, surrounded by pizza boxes. The rock-guy caught your gaze, taking off his headset, as you realised he'd been playing some kind of game on the TV in front of him, "Uhh, Thor?" He said, looking toward the opposite back corner of the room. Your eyes followed.

Your hand went over your mouth as you caught sight of him. He was almost unrecognisable from the last time you'd seen him. From any time you'd seen him, really. He'd grown his long hair back in, but it clearly hadn't been washed in a while, and was knotted, some strands forming dreadlocks. He'd also let his beard grow out far longer than he'd ever done before, you could see the crumbs all the way from the entryway.

He was also far less fit, to put it gently. He had a distinct beer gut, proudly displayed as he sat in the too-small armchair, shirtless.

He hadn't seen you yet, clearly, and he looked almost out of it, even with Rock Guy calling his name. But as you stepped further into the room, accidentally knocking over an empty bottle or two, his eyes settled on you. He squinted, as if trying to see past you, before they widened, and he stood quickly from his chair. Quickly enough to startle you, taking a small step back.

He uttered your name, nearly silent, before his face split into a grin. It wasn't the same one you'd come to know, though, something was off, but you couldn't place it. You weren't given a chance to think on it, as he moved across the room and swept you into his arms, a joyous cry leaving him.

"I can't believe it's you!" He said, practically crushing you in his still-very-strong grip, swinging you from side to side like a ragdoll. You weren't sure whether to reciprocate, still utterly confused, eventually tapping his shoulder to motion that you couldn't breathe. He placed you down, staggering slightly at the action, having to lean against the doorway. You frowned. He was _very_ drunk, it seemed.

Well, you couldn’t exactly judge him. It just wasn’t ideal.

Despite clearly not present in that moment, he was still perceptive of your lack of emotion, his jovial expression dampening, "Well, aren't you happy to see me?"

You looked up at him in disbelief, mouth agape as you tried to search for the right words to say, "I’m… I mean, of course, but… Thor, I’m just _really_ confused! What’s been-"

"Oh, I know what helps with that. Tequila!" He declared without regard to the rest of your words, turning back to where he'd been sat where a small collection of half-drunk bottles of various drinks sat. He picked one up that you assumed had to be tequila, as he sauntered clumsily back over, thrusting the bottle toward you, "There you go." He grinned, as if it would really solve all your problems, like a magical elixir.

Your eyes glanced immediately down to the bottle, and something in the back of your mind told you to just take it. That itch you’d been doing your best to ignore since leaving your flask on the ship was becoming unbearably difficult to ignore, your unhealthy coping mechanisms screamed for you to get rid of your worries and get completely wasted. Thor was here, he looked happy to see you, and should be happy too.

But you weren't. You pushed the bottle back to Thor.

"We need to talk."

"Uh oh..." The rock guy you'd completely forgotten about whispered not so quietly, his eyes averting from the pair of you the moment you looked over to him.

"Who are you supposed to be, by the way?" You asked, glancing between the two on the couch. The pile of rocks rose his hand, a controller held aloft with it.

"Oh! I'm Korg, this is Miek." He introduced in a thick Kiwi accent, Miek letting out some kind of clicking noises as his name was said, "We're Thor's friends. Wanna play Fortnite?"

You weren't sure how to respond for a moment, blinking dumbly before shaking your head, "...No thanks." You turned back to Thor, who was looking considerably less joyous, perhaps finally seeing the seriousness in your eyes, "We're going into another room, and we're talking. Capiche?"

"...Capiche." He responded, with the tone of a scolded child. You let him lead you to another room, seemingly a shared bedroom. At least, it seemed shared, considering the three beds, one covered in small shards of rock, the other in a weird purple sludge that looked like either eggs or some kind of ectoplasm. You couldn’t work out which, and you weren’t looking to focus on it.

Thor closed the door behind him, before moving onto his bed and collapsing. For a moment you thought he was going to fall asleep, his eyes closed, breathing even, but then he patted the end of the bed, an invitation for you to sit. You took it, brushing off the layer of crumbs that had accumulated before sitting by his feet, a hand running through your hair. When you imagined seeing Thor again after 3 years, this wasn't even within the realm of possibilities you'd considered. But here you were, a little drunk, next to a very drunk God who'd gained a lot of weight and seemingly played Fortnite, now.

You were at a loss for words, face falling in your hands and you tried to work out what the hell to tell this man. “I can’t believe you’re sat here playing video games and getting drunk while you left me by myself for 3 years, not knowing if I was ok? Not letting me know if you were ok? _Are_ you ok? Do you need help? Why Fortnite?”

You were still a bit stuck on the whole Fortnite thing, but it’d been ages since you’d even heard mention of the game and your brain was procrastinating on actually confronting the problem at hand. A convenient distraction.

You felt a hand glide along your back, in a way that felt achingly familiar, and you couldn’t help but lean into it. Your bottom lip quivered, so you bit it hard, taking a few breaths to steady yourself.

“What’s wrong, my love?” Thor asked, as if he were completely sober, as if Thanos had never happened, as if he’d never abandoned you. You didn’t know whether you wanted him to call you that. Not yet at least. You had a lot to sort out.

You took another breath, tucking your legs underneath yourself before forcing yourself to look at him.

“You abandoned me, Thor,” You whispered, and if you’d made some kind of secret promise to not cry, you’d already broken it, a few stray tears spilling over, “I was scared, and confused, and I turned to you and you just yelled at me and left. You have to understand, I don’t know where the two of us stand right now.” You told him, shifting away from his touch. Even intoxicated, he took the cue, hand moving away, eyes watching you carefully.

And then he smiled.

“But you’re here now!” He said, not seeming to understand.

“Yeah, after three years, Thor!” You snapped, standing up from the bed, arms crossed defensively, “I spent all that time not knowing what the hell I was supposed to do with myself, wondering where you were, and every time I tried to talk to someone about it, they were as clueless as me!”

Thor was silent for a moment, and you couldn’t bring yourself to look up at him and see what he was possibly thinking. But you took the silence as a cue to keep talking.

“That day, I lost everything. I lost my job, I lost my friends, I lost my stability,” You braved a glance up at him, seeing he was now staring down at his hands, like he’d seen a ghost, “And then I lost you. But it wasn’t like losing them. Because you’d left by choice, not by force. And- And for a while, I just _couldn’t_ work out what it was that was wrong with me that made you decided you wanted nothing more to do with me.” You stuttered out, lip trembling once more. You took a breath and stepped away, pacing between the beds as you collected yourself. The room was deathly silent. All you could hear was the crashing of the sea against the distant shore, and the occasional shouts of defeat or victory of Korg. You wanted Thor to say something, to fill the gaps, to apologise, to yell at you, _anything_ , just to prove he was _listening_ to you, at the least.

When he didn’t, for what felt like an eternity, you spoke again, “When Thanos-”

“Do not say his name!” He suddenly shouted, springing from his bed with speed you didn’t think Thor ever had. You staggered back in surprise, but at least he was finally speaking.

“Oh, we’re using Voldemort rules, now?” You asked, defeated, “Thor, he killed everyone! You can’t pretend he didn’t exist, he did-!”

Thor interrupted you with a wave of his hand, and when you really looked at his face, he looked like he was crying. Or at least, holding back tears. He had a finger pointed at you, as if he meant to speak, but he was struggling to find his words. You stayed silent for a moment as he collected himself. He took a few steps closer, his finger jabbing you gently in the chest, above your heart.

“Don’t… Don’t say his name,” He repeated, but his voice sounded much weaker now, “Please.”

You were in a stunned silence, for a few moments. Lost on what to say.

Your hand wrapped around the one closest to your chest, squeezing it gently as you spoke, “You can’t pretend it didn’t happen Thor. We’ve lost too much to pretend that.” He’s closer now, and you can see that his expression was the same as yours had been mere moments ago; trembling lip, eyes puffy from the strain of trying to hold back the dam of tears. His eyebrows furrowed as he broke eye contact with you, clearly trying to pull himself together. You gave him time.

“I don’t want you seeing me like this.” He’d finally said, not returning to look you in the eyes. Your eyes narrowed.

“What do you mean?”

“This!” He gestured to all of himself, exaggeratedly, his hand quickly moving up to his face so he could swipe some tears away with his thumb. You hesitated before a hand went to his face, fingers brushing over his beard.

“What about ‘this’, Thor?” You asked, returning the same sweeping gesture, before letting go of his other hand and letting it move to his face as well, brushing against his cheek gently. You looked across all of him, and beyond his very clear destructive tendencies, you couldn’t see a single thing wrong, worthy of not seeing, “All I see is you.”

His eyes returned to you, now sweeping you up and down. It was the most present he’d looked this entire time, and it was a fact you appreciated immensely. His gaze returned to your face, studying your eyes carefully, searchingly, before he slowly began to lean in.

For a moment you wished you could follow his action, just fall into his arms and return to what your relationship used to be. But you couldn’t. You raised a finger to his lips, his eyes, which had slid closed, reopening gently as he looked down at your offending finger. The expression was pretty amusing, and you couldn’t help the slightest of smiles creeping up, but quashed it down pretty swiftly.

“We aren’t there again yet, Thor.” You said quietly, “I’d love to be. But we’re not.”

He looked disappointed, but nodded nevertheless, moving back just a fraction as you let your hand drop.

“When will we be?” Was his next question. He sounded tired, now. You didn’t blame him, you could feel exhaustion creeping up on you, too.

“Once we’ve sorted everything out between us. Ok?”

“Ok.” he agreed. He watched your face for a moment before asking, “How do we get there?”

You shrugged at that, not entirely sure yourself, “Seeing each other more than tri-annually might help.” You offered. He nodded at that, a slight smile creeping onto his face.

“Anything else?”

“An explanation as to why you and your friends are playing Fortnite, of all games, would be nice.”

He laughed at that, and while it was by no means that bellowing, deep laugh you’d come to know years ago, it was an echo of what you’d both had, and it was enough to make you laugh too.

The pair of you didn't hang around in the bedroom for long, deciding spending some time in each other's company was an important first step, after so long. So you returned to the living room, where Korg was now invested enough in his game that he hadn't noticed you reenter, and Miek seemed to be asleep. The two of you sat and talked a little, enjoyed one another's company. You both realised that most of what was new in your life could be summed up pretty quickly: You had finished your degree, scraping by on savings and the odd babysitting job, and haven't done much to improve your quality of life. Thor's been doing pretty much the same you'd found him doing when you first got here; retreated into this little house alongside Korg and Miek, and... Let himself go. His words, not yours.

So once you both had given your run-down, and realised you were almost immediately on the same page, you shared a familiar look, and settled into a comfortable silence. You used to do it a lot, occasionally speaking, but for the most part, you would just stay close to one another, and appreciate each other's company.

You hadn't realised you'd let your eyes slip closed until you felt someone shaking you awake gently, eyes fluttering open and landing on Thor. You were disorientated for a moment, eyes scanning over him in shock, until you remembered. You were in New Asgard. You smiled softly, and he returned it.

"Brunnhilde's come to shout at me for keeping you too long. I think it's time to go." He said, and while his smile remained, you could see a hint of sadness in his eyes. Or, you thought you saw it, at least. Perhaps it was merely a reflection of how you felt.

"I don't want to go. We have so much to figure out."

"We will. You can visit again," Thor replied. He was clearly a little more sober, and you guessed that he'd fallen asleep too. You rose an eyebrow at his words.

"You know you can visit too, right?" You asked. The smile that had remained on Thor's face vanished almost immediately, and your heart plummeted, "I still live in the same place. The key's still inside the gate."

Thor shook his head quickly, clearing his throat, "I don't think it would be a good idea."

"Why wouldn't it be?" You questioned quietly, sitting up more so you and Thor, who you'd realised was crouching, were on the same level, "It's a long trip from home to Norway, Thor. I don't mind making the trip, but I can't do it forever."

Thor didn't seem to know how to react to that, expression remaining the same. You sighed, a hand running down your face as you tried to think.

"THOR!" You jumped as a hand rammed hard against the front door, a voice that sounded a lot like Brunnhilde's echoing through the mostly quiet house, "Hurry it up, she's got to go!"

You turned to Thor, who's eyes couldn't meet yours.

"I think you need to go."

"Please tell me you've got a phone, after all these years," You suddenly said, as you moved to stand up. Thor didn't seem to follow.

"What? A... A phone? No, what for?"

Your expression turned deadpan, as you looked at him, "To talk to people?"

"People such as...?"

"People such as myself?" You sighed as you rummaged through your clothing for your own phone, grabbing Thor's hand and pressing the device into it. He didn't seem to understand what you were doing.

"What do you want me to do with this?" He asked.

"To not lose it or break it, would be lovely," You responded, "This is yours now. I'll get another one back home. It's one of those new international sim cards, you won't need to change the number. I will call you." You told him, eyes searching his. He focused on the phone for a long moment, before seemingly coming to his senses and looking up at you.

"THOR!" Brunnhilde shouted again, sounding as if she was about to break down the door. Thor swept you into his arms.

"Thank you." You smiled as you pat his back gently, him putting you down.

"I'll call you. Alright?" You said as you backed toward the door. He nodded, giving you a wave. You noticed Miek and Korg doing the same, so you waved to them too. Brunnhilde's shouting must have brought them both back to reality.

As you stepped through the door, the sigh of relief was audible.

"Took the pair of you long enough. What happened, did you fall asleep?"

"... Yeah, maybe."

Both Brunnhilde and Nebula, who you realised had been standing behind the door once you pushed it closed, shared a bewildered look, before ushering you back toward the blue ute that had brought you here in the first place. You realised the poor driver had probably been waiting for you, and a quick wave of guilt washed over you. But when you went to the window to apologise, they assured it was no problem.

You turned to Brunnhilde to thank her, though she assured there was nothing to thank her for.

"But I hope to see you again soon. You _and_ the Royal Pain-in-my-Ass," She responded, though she held a teasing smile. You thanked her again quietly as you hopped in beside Nebula, and the truck drove off.

For a while it was back to silence, but Nebula surprised you again by speaking up.

"So. Did you get what you came for?" She asked. You thought for a moment, before nodding.

"I got a lot more than I'd expected. I'll chalk it up as a success," You told her with a grin. She merely nodded in response, and for the rest of the trip, didn't speak a word.

You looked out over the water, the sky, now a deep blue, lit up by a smattering of stars, reflected upon it's surface. It was a beautiful place, and even though you never got the chance to see Asgard, you were glad you got to see what remained of it, and how it had become this charming little seaside town in Norway, with a beautiful view of the water, and the surrounding rocky hills. You hoped you would be able to come back again. But you hoped Thor would find you, too.

You hugged Steve when you arrived in the compound, the relief of finally seeing Thor not really hitting you until you'd gotten back to familiarity. He held you tightly.

"How is he?" He asked in a whisper. You pulled away and smiled, eyes watery.

"He's okay," you say, nodding, "He's okay."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The boy is back! Lets hope things start going well, hm?
> 
> Thank you all again for the support, I've loved reading your comments and I can't wait to get more of this story out to you guys!


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